Sunday, April 11, 2010

No power again except in one room...

...of the cat facility again!

It has to be the house breaker (which is a double, but with one switch). So do I change it myself, or call the electrician again? Apparently the spiritectomy didn't work. First I am going to unplug all of the heaters. It's possible one has gone bad. But wouldn't a breaker flip off? They are all still ON but I have no power in three quarters of the cat facility.




However I did get a start on the new doors to the cellar. I hope I have enough plywood in the barn so I don't need to buy more. I also found some 1/4 plywood in the barn I did not know I had, which would be great for the stairwell in the cat facility (after ripping down all that drywall someone slapped up there in tiny chunks, not to mention the strip of insulation!)

3 comments:

meowmeowmans said...

Oh, man, we're sorry to hear your having electrical issues in the cat facility. :(

We are purring and praying that the issue gets resolved soon...

Chrissykat said...

Geesh...hope you get that issue solved once & for all. Frustrating I'm sure & a problem you just don't need right now. Good luck.

p.s. the new door looks good so far...you're quite the handy one, go girl!

Old Grouch said...

For the immediate problem, try turning the breaker off, then back on. Sometimes the "doubles" don't trip all the way.

Having said that:
Sizzling sounds and the like shouldn't be ignored. They mean there IS something wrong, even if it wasn't obvious. (Might not even be that particular breaker, could be one of the other ones.)

I'd suggest a second service call, possibly a second electrician. Have him pull all the breakers, then inspect them and the panel's busbars for signs of arcing or overheating. Replace ANYTHING that shows damage.

After it's put back together, have him do a load (current) test on the lines to the cat facility. With everything (lights and heaters) turned on, the load should be no more than 80% of the breaker's rating. (If it's higher, you need to use less stuff/install heavier service.)

There are a few breaker types that have been found to be hazardous (defective by design) and should be replaced regardless: There's some info available here.

Don't want to scare you, but you need to get to the bottom of the problem. This is (potentially) burn-the-house-down stuff. Good luck!